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Wayne and Jennie Dion of Irasburg pose with the two bucks they shot on opening weekend of rifle season in 2008. Mr. Dion’s deer was an eight-pointer and weighed 190 pounds. Ms. Dion’s deer was a six-pointer and weighed 160 pounds. Photos courtesy of the Dions

copyright the Chronicle January 14, 2015

by Joseph Gresser

NEWPORT — State game wardens staking out the Irasburg home of Wayne R. Dion, 66, and Jennie A. Dion, 61, say they heard a gunshot during the night before hunting season opened. They say their investigation turned up evidence of several violations of hunting laws.

Mr. Dion appeared in the Criminal Division of Orleans County Superior Court Tuesday where he pled innocent to failure to tag big game, baiting deer, feeding deer, taking game by illegal method-using a light, taking deer out of season, taking a big game animal by illegal means, taking a bird in closed season, possessing a big game animal taken by illegal means or in closed season, and transporting big game taken by illegal means or in closed season.

Ms. Dion pled innocent to possessing a big game animal taken by illegal means or in closed season.

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Editor’s note: Maria Hormilla is the paternal grandmother of Natalie Hormilla. This interview reflects but a small portion of her experiences in Cuba.

by Natalie Hormilla

Ask Maria Hormilla of Cranford, New Jersey, what she thinks of the United States normalizing relations with Cuba, and she answers with a question.

“Why now?”

It’s a move that comes too late to repair the damage done to her and her family, and to people in her home country after Fidel Castro came into power in 1959, she said.

Mrs. Hormilla emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba with her young son in 1968. That was seven years after her husband came to the U.S. and nine years after Fidel Castro’s communist government began the reforms that forever changed Cuba.

BARTON — As he hears a visitor pull into the dooryard of his camp, only a stone’s throw from Crystal Lake, Pete Cocoros pokes the bell of his trumpet out his door and blows a fanfare. It proves to be an apt prelude to a two-hour conversation about music and the adventurous path blazed by a horn.

Mr. Cocoros has performed for generals, played before thousands at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, entertained troops in Iceland, Morocco, and Greece, and set people to dancing all over the United States.

Most people who know him these days think of Pete Cocoros as the man whose playing of “Taps” brings tears to the eyes of those gathered to celebrate Veterans and Memorial days in Barton. Or they know him as the man whose photographs of local school band concerts appear in the Chronicle a few times a year.

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The heavy wet snow that stuck to trees in last week’s big snowstorm has caused power outages to continue throughout the week. Photos by Tena Starr

copyright the Chronicle December 17, 2014

by Tena Starr

Orleans County got off relatively lightly in last week’s big snowstorm. Several towns received a good foot of snow on the night of Tuesday, December 9. And they got it in a hurry.

But the county was not as affected by power outages as other places in Vermont.

By Monday afternoon, the Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) said that just 260 VEC members were without power. Line crews had repaired more than 35,000 outages since the storm, said spokesman Liz Gamache.

You could call last week’s storm the gift that kept on giving. After the initial mess was cleaned up, utilities warned that the heavy snow could continue to bring down trees and branches, causing more outages. And that’s just what happened.

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In the article on Vermont gang activity, we quoted Brian Mclaughlin as saying the Latin Kings have a presence in Barton. Mr. Mclaughlin has contacted the Chronicle to say the quote was accurate, but he only used Barton as an example of a small community where a gang might turn up. The Latin Kings do not have a house in Barton, Mr. Mclaughlin now says.

copyright the Chronicle December 10, 2014

by Joseph Gresser

NEWPORT — Gangs don’t appreciate Vermont’s scenery Brian Mclaughlin of the Department of Corrections told an audience of about 25 social service agency and law enforcement representatives Tuesday. They do like something that most state residents cherish, a sense of safety, but mostly “they’re here strictly for the money,” Mr. Mclaughlin said.

JAY — A bus taking U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin to a meeting in Quebec is rammed by a man who committed a robbery in Vermont and escaped by speeding through Canadian customs.

Governor Shumlin is severely injured, the robber and Vermont State Police troopers, acting as security for the Governor, exchange gunfire. One trooper is wounded, and the robber is killed. The incident ends as the Governor is airlifted to the University of Vermont Medical Center.

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Wayne and Jennie Dion of Irasburg pose with the two bucks they shot on opening weekend of rifle season in 2008. Mr. Dion’s deer was an eight-pointer and weighed 190 pounds. Ms. Dion’s deer was a six-pointer and weighed 160 pounds. Photos courtesy of the Dions

copyright the Chronicle November 26, 2014

by Tena Starr

An Irasburg couple will be brought to court next month for allegedly running an elaborate deer poaching operation that included baiting and spotlights in their well concealed backyard and a gun portal in a wall of their house.

Wayne Dion, 66, and Jennie Dion, 63, are facing multiple charges related to deer baiting and illegal hunting, Major Dennis Reinhardt, who is in charge of law enforcement for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said Monday.

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The area’s homeless don’t tend to be street-dwellers, as in more urban places. In the Northeast Kingdom, they live on the beaches, in the woods, in their cars, or they “couch surf,” sleeping at the homes of friends or family who have enough room to take them in for a while. The county’s homeless population exists, it’s just hard to find. Photo by David Dudley

copyright the Chronicle November 19, 2014

by David Dudley

NEWPORT — Victoria Kuhn, a thin woman in her twenties, moved to Newport a little over a year ago with her fiancé. Since their arrival, they have lived on Prouty Beach, in their car, and during the cold months, with the man’s mother. Ms. Kuhn’s fiancé suffered a traumatic brain injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while in the military. Since his return, he has developed severe stomach ulcers, and doctors have given him six months to live, Ms. Kuhn said.

“We came to Newport from Dover, Delaware,” she said. “We wanted to be near his mother, but we couldn’t find our own place to live.

“We’ve been here a little over a year now, and still haven’t found our own home. I don’t know how to explain it. ”

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If Orleans County’s legislative delegation had its way, Scott Milne would be Vermont’s next governor.

That’s not a surprising decision for the Republicans who represent the county, but as of this week only one of the three Democrats was willing to unequivocally say that he’ll follow tradition and support the candidate who won the popular vote.

Representative Sam Young of Glover said he will vote for Governor Shumlin.

“I think it’s generally a bad precedent if the Legislature starts electing people who didn’t win,” Mr. Young said.

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These are the full results to the Orleans-Caledonia House race, as it should have appeared in the Chronicle. A cropped version of the chart, with only Chris Braithwaite and Devin Small, was printed in the paper, in error.

Complete election results for each race available in the Chronicle.

copyright the Chronicle November 5, 2014

by Joseph Gresser

Jennifer Barrett was the big winner of Tuesday’s election, scoring a convincing victory to secure the office of Orleans County State’s Attorney. The Republican candidate garnered more votes than the combined totals of her two rivals.

When all votes were counted Ms. Barrett had 3,882, to 2,337 for Democrat James Lillicrap, and 1,486 for independent Ben Luna. The three candidates were all but unavoidable over the course of a long campaign that began this summer as Ms. Barrett faced incumbent State’s Attorney Alan Franklin in the Republican primary and defeated him.